Voyageurs lose tiebreaker, finish second to St. Scholastica. National Tournament bid hangs in the balance this week.

Rainy River’s fate is now in the hands of the ACHA voters.

The two-time defending national champion Voyageurs will find out today if they were ranked in the top three of the final ACHA Division II poll. Only the top three teams from both the West and East Regions advance to the national tournament, which runs March 11-14 at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.

The Voyageurs were ranked fifth in the previous poll on Jan. 29, but have since gone 5-0, with four of those victories coming against top five teams.

RRCC defeated two top five teams over the weekend at the 4th annual Can-Am Invitational Tournament in International Falls. The Voyageurs edged top-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth 2-1 on Friday at Kerry Park Arena before defeating No. 4 North Dakota State University by the same score Saturday at Bronco Arena. RRCC crushed No. 6 Minot State University 10-3 in the tournament finale Sunday at Bronco Arena.

“So you would think that would move us up,” RRCC head coach Evan Amdahl said.

St. Scholastica finished first overall in the tournament, however, by slipping past the Voyageurs with the second tiebreaker. Both teams finished 3-0, but since they didn’t face each other, the second tiebreaker was goals scored. The No. 3 Saints scored 22 to the Voyageurs’ 14. UMD finished third with a 1-2 record.

The only hiccup of the tournament was the absence of the University of Wisconsin-Stout, which backed out of the tournament Thursday morning.

“It ran really well,” Amdahl said. “It’s a lot of volunteer work. That’s what makes a fund-raising tournament go.”

In the skill’s competition Saturday, RRCC posted a clean sweep. Stevie-Lee Langford was the fastest skater with a lap time of 16.5 seconds, while Brenley Anderson had the hardest shot at 62 miles per hour. Katie Stearns stopped seven of eight shots to win the goalie shootout.

In the three victories, Langford led the Voyageurs with nine points (5G, 4A), including a team-high seven points against MSU, while Anderson posted seven points (5G, 2A). Falls High School graduate Courtney Scholler dished out five assists for five points. Stearns was in net for Friday’s and Sunday’s wins, while Kelsey Fuerst was in net for Saturday’s win.

“It’s sitting and waiting now,” Amdahl said. “It’s pretty much out of our control. We did what we could down the stretch.”

Friday’s game

RRCC 2, UMD 1

UMD 1 0 0—1

RRCC 0 0 2—2

First period — UMD, Megan Pinette (Kirie Marshall), PP, 5:23.

Second period — No scoring.

Third period — RRCC, Brenley Anderson (Stevie-Lee Langford, Courtney Scholler), 9:47; RRCC, Kyla Thorne (Cassandra Cochrane), 4:40.

Goalies — UMD, Afton Twardowski, 13 saves; RRCC, Katie Stearns, 31 saves.

Saturday’s game

RRCC 2, NDSU 1

NDSU 1 0 0—1

RRCC 1 0 1—2

First period — RRCC, Brenley Anderson (Courtney Scholler), 14:19; NDSU, Katie Whetter, PP, 3:23.

Second period — No scoring.

Third period — RRCC, Stevie-Lee Langford (Scholler), 12:49.

Goalies — NDSU, Whitney Harchenko, 25 saves; RRCC, Kelsey Fuerst, 28 saves.

Sunday’s game

RRCC 10,

Minot State 3

MSU 1 2 0—3

RRCC 3 2 5—10

First period — RRCC, Kaylynn McBurney-Flett, 12:03; RRCC, Stevie-Lee Langford (Courtney Scholler), 11:21; MSU, Cassie Mcleod, 9:32; RRCC, Langford (Brenley Anderson), :58.

Second period — MSU, Ashley Goudy (Danielle Bakke, Chelsea Bender), 12:41; RRCC, Anderson (Langford, Kylie Harala), 12:26; MSU, Goudy (Bender, Mcleod), 10:34; RRCC, Lindsey Roehrig (Cassandra Cochrane), 3:27.

Third period — RRCC, Anderson (Langford, Brittany Finnson), 16:24; RRCC, Langford (Anderson, Scholler), 10:39; RRCC, Anderson (Langford), 1:34; RRCC, Langford, 1:07; RRCC, Finnson (Kaylynn McBurney-Flett), :37.

Goalies — MSU, Casey Ritzer, 42 saves; RRCC, Katie Stearns, 26 saves.

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